The sport of surfing is well known and has existed for centuries. Essentially, the sport comprises catching and riding waves whereby a surfer upon a surfboard, facing his body in the same direction as the motion of the wave, uses his arms to paddle until his momentum is equal to that of the waves'. The surfer, if possessing the requisite skill, then stands up upon the board and uses his balance and the shifting of his body weight to control his direction relative the direction of the wave.
Essential to the sport of surfing, however, are ocean waves that possess the requisite size, strength and speed to propel the surfer and surfboard forward. As is known, waves are created by a complex combination of wind and gravity. These factors manifest themselves, in part, by swells that spread out from storms, tide-generating forces created by the sun, moon and earth positions, and the specific direction of the current of the ocean in a given geographic location. As such, based upon this combination of forces, the surf in any given coastal area can vary dramatically from being completely "flat" to over 10 feet in some areas. Moreover, such surfing conditions are continuously in a state of flux, and may only be ideal for a few hours or a few days at a time.
While significant advances have been made with respect to predicting when surf conditions are most ideal for a given coastal area, the intensity and frequency of the waves in many coastal areas are currently incapable of being controllably produced and are thus entirely dependent upon the forces of nature. As such, surfers wishing to enjoy optimal surfing conditions must continuously monitor weather conditions and "surf reports" and further, typically have to forego surfing to the extent a given opportunity to surf under ideal conditions interferes with existing obligations, such as employment.
The drawbacks of unpredictable surfing conditions likewise can detract from surfing events and competitions. In this regard, it is frequently difficult to schedule events based around optimal surfing conditions insofar as the latter are elusive and cannot presently be controlled to coincide with the particular surfing event. As such, it is commonplace to have surfing contests and competitions under sub-optimal conditions that do not test the true ability of the competitors, nor illicit the commensurate level of spectator enthusiasm.
Additionally, because the sport of surfing is currently limited exclusively to coastal areas, such sport cannot be enjoyed in other bodies of water, namely, lakes and rivers, insofar as such bodies of water are incapable of producing surfable waves via natural forces. As such, a substantial portion of the population is effectively precluded from even having the opportunity to surf, and thus are practically prevented from enjoying and participating in such sport.
In light of such shortcomings, there is thus a need in the art for an apparatus that is capable of generating waves within a body of water of sufficient height and strength to enable the same to be surfed upon. There is additionally a need in the art for a wave generating apparatus that is capable of predictably producing and reproducing waves of varying magnitudes to accommodate novice to experienced surfers. There is still further a need in the art for a wave generating apparatus that can easily and efficiently generate surfable waves that is of simple construction, easy to utilize, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is easily transportable and may be utilized repeatedly in any of a variety of bodies of water.